On the next day, Ning Ran sent the kids to school and got a call from Wang Xiaoou on her way back asking her to go to the agency.
Nothing else was mentioned on the call, causing Ning Ran to feel a bit nervous. Did I do something wrong that caused the agency a lot of trouble?
However, when Ning Ran reached Star Entertainment, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, even Wang Xiaoou looked normal too.
At that instant, Ning Ran was relieved.
“You have a job tonight. You’re going to be in Flower City TV studio’s show. Get ready for it. We’ll leave for the studio in a bit.” Wang Xiaoou informed.
“Huh?” Ning Ran was stunned. “Right now?”
“Yes, right now. It was supposed to be next week but one of the stars they invited had to cancel so they asked if you could sub in. We thought about it and it looked like there’s enough time so we accepted it.” Wang Xiaoou explained.
“What do you mean there’s enough time? I’m not even ready.”
“The show goes live at eight tonight. We’re still far from noon. How is a whole day not enough time for prep?” Wang Xiaoou raised an eyebrow.
“For anyone else maybe. But definitely not for me. I’ve never been on live television before! I’m scared!” Ning Ran exclaimed.
“What are you scared of? Just leave everything to us. Don’t worry!”
“What’s the show about? What do I need to do?”
“There will be some games and you will be doing a performance. Do you sing or dance? Or do you have any acting-related talents?” Wang Xiaoou asked Ning Ran.
“None!”
“Singing it is then.” Wang Xiaoou remarked.
“What?”
“If you don’t have any special talents, singing would be the easier choice. It’s not your main profession anyway, so just sing whatever song you like. No one will say anything even if you’re bad.” Wang Xiaoou casually explained.
“But my singing’s really bad! It’s straight-up awful!” Ning Ran emphasized.
“It’ll be fine. Mr. Chen said you sound alright.” Wang Xiaoou replied.
“What? He said that?”
“That’s what he told the higher-ups. So everyone thinks you definitely know how to sing. Mr. Chen has high standards, and if he said you’re alright, then you’re definitely alright.” Wang Xiaoou looked at Ning Ran with a serious face.
“Well, if that’s the case, I’m sad to say that you’ve been duped by him. I’ve never actually sung in front of him before.” Ning Ran said with a bitter face.
“Let’s just prepare for now. Why don’t you go and record a song and we can do some post-production and tune your pitch? On the live broadcast, all you need to do is just lip-sync to the produced track. Even if you mess up, things will be alright.” Wang Xiaoou said.
“Huh? You can do that?” Ning Ran was surprised.
“You don’t have to be that surprised. This is the norm. Do you really think every superstar can sing live? Their performance was auto-tuned as well. Just get used to it. That’s how things work in this industry”.
“But what if the audience sees through the act? What happens then?”
“They won’t. How would they? Oh! By the way, when you sing with the microphone, hold it higher so that it covers your mouth. That makes it less obvious whenever the shape of your mouth doesn’t sync with the song. It’s usually fine so don’t worry about it. If anything actually happens, we’ll deal with it then. So just have some fun.” Wang Xiaoou spoke very confidently.
“Fine. I really hope I won’t mess things up.” Ning Ran was still concerned.
Wang Xiaoou continued her briefing. “Aside from that, another production team will be there as well. You guys will be split into two teams and compete in the mini-games. Even though it’s just a game, please do your best to win.”
“I have to compete with other people?”
“Yes. The show’s rating in Flower City is not bad. A lot of production teams would use the show to promote their new projects. Lunlun has another job so he can’t make it. You and Tang Jing are the only ones available, along with some of the supporting casts. But of course, you’ll have the spotlight.”
Right then, Ning Ran was already trembling with nerves, upon knowing that she had to compete with other people made things worse. She started panicking inside.
“I’m actually terrible at this kind of thing and this is the first time I appear on a variety show. Not to mention a live broadcast at that. What if I ruin everything?” Ning Ran said.
Wang Xiaoou frowned, “Why do you have so many questions? We’re not even at the studio yet and you’re already worrying about ruining the show?”
“I just think the chances of me doing so are really high.” Ning Ran said as she truly lacked the confidence to do the show.
“It’s going to be fine! Be more confident in yourself. You are the agency’s main focus right now. Have some dignity!”
“Okay, I’ll try.” Ning Ran reluctantly straightened up and raised her chin.
Wang Xiaoou was amused. “No need to go overboard, though. Just trust me when I say, you’ll be fine.”
“What are we doing for the match? Is it a talent competition?”
“Talents are mainly for performing. You guys will be competing with your professional skills.”
“Professional skills?”
“Yes. This segment is actually quite challenging. From what I know, it involves memorizing lines or impromptu acting after given a scene. The other guys in the team won’t be able to do that, only you can. So, it will be your time to shine. The audience will judge accordingly. They’ll know whether you’re the real deal or just some pretty face. It’s your chance to show them what you’ve got!”
“For the script, do they provide them for us? Or…”
“We’re promoting the new series on the broadcast, so you’ll be reciting the lines from it. The lines will also act as some spoiler for the fans and get them hooked on watching. The lines won’t be long. Maybe about three minutes with no cuts. And the segment is all about how skilled you are so there’s no faking it. It tests your accuracy when it comes to memorizing. One mark will be deducted for every mistake you make and the first to get ten marks deducted loses.”
“Do we need to prepare some lines in advance?” Ning Ran asked.
“Yes. In fact, we need three different sets for you to remember. The host will randomly pick one and ask you to recite it. While you’re reciting, the lines will show up on the screen behind you so that the audience can see.”
From what Wang Xiaoou said, Ning Ran could feel the difficulty of the show.
Moreover, the time she had for preparations was not a lot. There were so many segments to prepare for. It definitely was not as easy as Wang Xiaoou said it was.
“Mr. Chen said that your ability to remember lines are impeccable. I believe you can do it.”
That damn Poker Face again! He’s usually always quiet. Who knew he’d be so good at bulls**tting. Why would he make me out to be some incredibly talented person?
“Mr. Chen really doesn’t know me that well. I’m good with lines, but that’s because I put in a lot of time. It’s not because I have a good memory. Truth be told, I actually have a really bad memory. I don’t have much confidence for that segment.” Ning Ran explained.
Wang Xiaoou kept quiet and fell deep in thought.
“Initially, Tang Jing actually wanted to take on the challenge, but I insisted that we let you do it instead because it’s a good chance to show what you’re capable of. You need to prove to the audience that not only you have the looks, but you also have the skills to back it up as an actress. That’s why I want you to do it and I believe you can do it well.” Wang Xiaoou looked intently into Ning Ran’s eyes.
Ning Ran felt like she was stuck in a rock and a hard place.
“Fine. I’ll try my best.”
“Don’t just try. You must succeed! This is your first ever variety show appearance. You need to perform well because everyone in the company will be watching. Don’t be too nervous though. Just be yourself. You’re a capable actress and we all know that.”
Ning Ran let out a sigh and said, “Okay.”
